Annie

Annie is the female narrator of the story. Ben, her lover, laments that he and Annie “think far too much.” There is ample evidence throughout the story that Annie, indeed, thinks too much. For example, when Annie describes the first time she and Ben had sex, she says that she “concentrated really hard on letting go,” a sort of emotional oxymoron. Also, the fact that she consults a teacher at the community college to determine the rate of Ben’s backward progress indicates her intellectual, rather than emotional orientation.

There is evidence too that Annie is aware of the way she overthinks life and is trying to change. At one point, Ben takes her outside, shows her the stars, and tells her, “There is no space for anything but dreaming.” She goes back to bed but cannot sleep and ends up...